What has MSG got to do with wine?

Although Umami is not synonymous with MSG, it is a sensory reaction to MSG. It can be derived from amino acid (protein containing food), meat, fish, squid and prawns (fresh and dried), dried scallops, mushroom, soy sauce, tomatoes, chinese cabbage, seaweed, aged cheese. The taste receptor for Umami, identified by a team of scientists in the University of Miami, is called “taste-mGluR4”. The Umami receptors are distributed along the side (fungiform) and the back of our tongue (circumvallate). They are in close proximity to the sensory for tannins which is the astringent mouth-feel when we drink a cup of thick tea or a glass of young Bordeaux wine.

What does all this mean to pairing food and wine? The taste receptor for Umami has a great influence on the choice of wine. Red wine made with grapes from cool or maritime climate, for example, Bordeaux, Piedmonte ..etc, will generally have a higher level of tannins and acidity. Wine from these regions will benefit from longer skin contact and the presence of lactic acid. Therefore, red wine that has a complex palate will go well with food prepared with soya sauce (lots of lactic acid) or cooked with sources of umami.

Cher Lim
Wine Treasures (Singapore)
http://www.wine-treasures.com

Origins of Wine

As the first article of this blog, it is appropriate to share with you the ongoing effort by a group of researchers led by Patrick E McGovern of University of Pennsylvania in uncovering the history of wine. Perhaps we will call the first wine for mankind the Stone Age Wine. Legend has it that wine was first discovered by a Persian King Jamsheed who loved fresh grapes and stored them in jars to cater for a year round consumption. Unfortunately, one consignment went bad in the jar and was fermented overtime. It was then labeled as poison on the jar. A harem consort who suffered from a bad headache mistakenly took the “poison” and went into a deep sleep. She miraculously recovered from her headache the next day and informed the King about her discovery. From that day onwards, King Jamsheed ordered that the poison be replicated as the fermented grape juice is indeed wine with medicinal value. Thus begins the quest for winemaking. This tale, although not validated, has been most cited and has implied Iran as the homeland of winemaking.

Cher Lim
Wine Treasures (Singapore)
http://www.wine-treasures.com/